LOGISTICA CG35: Tel. Cel. 335 7555 118
(dall'estero +39 335 7555 118)

Curia Societatis Iesu
Borgo S. Spirito 4, 00193 Roma
Indirizzo postale: C.P. 6139, 00195 Roma-Prati
Tel: 06 68977 1 (dall'estero +39 06 68977 1)
Fax: 06 6868 214 (dall'estero +39 06 6868 214)

Pontificia Università Gregoriana. Comunità:
Piazza della Pilotta 4, 00187 ROMA
Tel (Portineria): 06 6701 1 (dall'estero: +39 06 6701 1)
Fax (Comunità): 06 6701 5413 (dall'estero: +39 06 6701 5413)
Fax (Palazzo Frascara): 06 6701 5326 (dall'estero: +39 06 6701 5326)

Pontificio Istituto Biblico, Via della Pilotta 25, 00187 ROMA.
Tel: portineria: 06 69526 1 (dall'estero: +39 06 69526 1)
Fax: 06 69526 6151 (dall'estero: +39 06 69526 6151)

Collegio S. Roberto Bellarmino, Via del Seminario 120, 00186 ROMA.
Tel. portineria: 06 69527 1 (dall'estero: +39 06 69527 1)
Fax: 06 69527 6562 (dall'estero: +39 06 69527 6562)

Collegio Internazionale del Gesù, Piazza del Gesù 45, 00186 ROMA
Tel. portineria: 06 69205 800; 06 69205 878
(dall'estero: +39 06 69205 800; +39 06 69205 878)
Fax 06 67807 80 (dall'estero: +39 06 67807 80)

Residenza S. Pietro Canisio,
Ingresso per Curia Generalizia: Borgo S. Spirito 4, 00193 Roma
Tel.: portineria: 06 68977 9; (dall'estero: +39 06 68977 9)
Fax: 06 68977 760 (dall'estero: +39 06 68977 760)

Casa BONUS PASTOR (Vicariato di Roma)
Via Aurelia, 208 - 00165 Roma
Tel.: 06 698 71282; (dall'estero: +39 06 698 71282)
Fax: 06 688 71435: (dall'estero: +39 06 698 71435)

Casa SAN ONOFRIO (Suore Dorotee)
Via del Gianicolo, 4A - 00165 Roma
Tel.: 06 6880 2057 (dall'estero: +39 06 6880 2057)

JESUIT IDENTITY

1. The Issue: The need to clarify our identity as Jesuits, the distinctiveness of our way of life and mission, has surfaced in recent conversations, most notably at the meeting of Major Superiors at Loyola 2005. Such clarification seems necessitated in the changing context of:
1.1 The Church which is increasingly a Church of the Laity with the mission of the laity receiving its due importance which, however, raises questions about the continuing relevance of religious life in the Church. Appreciation for religious life among some members of the hierarchy seems to be diminishing;
1.2 The World where a new and rapidly changing technological and a highly sexualized and secular culture is developing. The insecurity and confusion this generates with regard to religious life and the practice of the vows, and religious structures of governance has consequences for our self-understanding and our mission;
1.3 The Society where the multi-culturalism of its members and the diversity of cultural contexts of mission make union of hearts and minds problematic and seem to foster fragmentation rather than integration in apostolic works. The decreased interest in the vocation to Jesuit Brotherhood provokes reflection on how well the identity of the Jesuit Brother is understood and presented.

2. An Analysis: Reflecting on the postulates, the Coetus Praevius recommended that the Society consciously use its powerful spiritual tradition to rediscover and strengthen Jesuit identity. As social and ecclesial supports seem to weaken, the Society has to pay closer attention to the significance of Jesuit community life as a value in itself and as support for mission. Inadequate formation in our charism is a deficiency that needs to be seriously addressed. No adequate response to the crisis of vocations in some parts of the Society can be made unless Jesuits have clarity and confidence in our identity.

3. The Response of the Coetus Praevius was to recommend a decree that would help Jesuits deepen their self-understanding in the challenging context in which we live and serve, accepting that this could not be a comprehensive resolution but an aid to live our lives joyfully and with apostolic fruit.
This may call for both a theological reflection and re-imagining and perhaps changing, the way in which we understand ourselves, live together, minister and how we give witness. The response would be enriched through dialogue with other religious families and our lay partners.
We seem to require a contemporary restatement of our identity as men "whose mission is to dedicate himself entirely to the service of faith and promotion of justice, in a communion of life and work and sacrifice with the companions who have rallied round the same standard of the Cross and in fidelity to the Vicar of Christ, for building up a world at once more human and more divine" (GC 32.D.2, 31) Among the elements that would assist a proper understanding of Jesuit identity would be insistence on our mission of a faith that promotes justice, and dialogue with religions and cultures, an option for and solidarity with the poor in life and ministry, formation to be truly contemplative in action, faithful living of our vows, especially the apostolic obedience characteristic of our way of proceeding, flowing from the account of conscience and with a proper understanding of the 4th vow, the effective integration of the Brothers in the mission of the Society and the particular contribution the Society is called to make in Church and the world.

Relevant Resources
G.C. 32, Decree 2, 11
G.C. 34, Decree 2,6,7,11,26
Fr. General's Talk to the Major Superiors at Loyola 2000
Fr. General's Talk at the Meeting of Procurators 2003
Fr. General's Letter on the Account of Conscience (2005/02)

Questions for personal and communal reflection

1. Do you feel that our Jesuit identity seems problematic at the personal and/or community level? If so, what are the elements that contribute to this sense of uncertainty? If no, what are the features that sustain authentic Jesuit identity?
2. From your experience, is sufficient attention paid to our formation in our charism, our way of proceeding and our history and culture so as to strengthen corporate Jesuit identity? If not, what concrete steps in this direction could you suggest at the level of personal and community formation?
3. Is the sense of Jesuit identity and mission sufficiently vigorous to support a search for vocations suitable for our life and work?
4. Have our efforts to promote partnership with the laity in mission been detrimental to the proper presentation of and search for vocations to the Brotherhood?

THE MISSION OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS IN THE CONTEXT OF
GLOBALIZATION-MARGINALIZATION

The Mission of the Society Today
1. The universal dimension of our mission: How can the Society best articulate its mission in the changing realities of our times? The postulates on mission stress the need to reflect on and rearticulate our mission in light of the particular challenges of our era: increasing globalization and global inequality, the multicultural reality of societies and countries, resistance to the empowerment of the poor, ecological issues, and growing challenges to faith, religious identity and Jesuit vocation (Cf. Coetus praevius, p. 8).

2. The context of globalization: How can the Society best integrate the issue of globalization into its ministries and way of proceeding? The postulates urge the Society´s action in response to the inequalities and injustices of the globalization process, which excludes the poor in most parts of the world. Decisions in a globalized world are increasingly made by fewer and fewer elites, making a mockery of democracy, freedom and human rights. In its evaluation, the coetus praevius notes that globalization is something new that expands the scope of every apostolic challenge and opportunity and gives new insight into the universality of Christ´s mission whose servants we are. Thus the need to adapt governance structures in order to carry out the Society´s universal mission. This demands cooperation and the type of governance that transcends provincial, conference and assistancy boundaries.

3. Marginalization: What should be the response of the Society of Jesus to the challenges posed by the diverse situations of marginalization that accompany globalization? The postulates mention the following situations requiring our attention: Africa, indigenous and discriminated peoples, migrants, refugees and displaced peoples, and the commitment for peace, reconciliation and human rights.

Documents
GC 34, decrees 2-5 and decree 16.
Fr. General´s 1986 letter on communal apostolic discernment.
Promotio Justitiae, We live in a Broken World (#70, 1999); Seeking Peace in a Violent World: New Challenges (#98, 2005).
Social Justice Secretariat, Globalization and Marginalization: Our Global Apostolic Response (2006).

Questions for personal and communal reflection
1. How is the understanding of the global challenges to our apostolic mission present in our communal discernment? How does the community in which I live, or the apostolic institution in which I work, promote the study and analysis of social reality and the challenges it poses to our mission today?

2. In what ways do we perceive interest in our community (Province) in reaching greater inter-provincial and international cooperation for mission, transcending province boundaries, in order to respond to the apostolic priorities of the universal Society? What do we need to do to promote Ignatian freedom in order to be able to sacrifice a local apostolic project in view of far-reaching and more universal projects?

3. What are our attitudes as an apostolic community regarding the situations of marginalization in our globalized world: Africa, discriminated peoples, migrants, refugees and displaced peoples? How do we express our solidarity on their behalf? In what concrete ways is the preferential love of the poor manifested in our communities and apostolic works? How is the commitment for peace, reconciliation and human rights present in our preaching and action?

The Vow of Obedience to the Holy Father

The Holy Father Benedict XVI has asked that GC 35 deepen the spirit of devotion and special fidelity to the "Vicar of Christ on earth," as expressed in our fourth vow.

1. The Object and Spirit of the Vow:

In the Constitutions in numbers 603 and 605, the strictly juridical object of this vow, so characteristic of the Society, has been precisely formulated but as such used only rarely. There the vow is reserved to the particular missions entrusted to us by the Holy Father.

Nonetheless, the first Jesuits never understood that the strict application of the vow to being sent on mission meant that the spirit of the vow was limited exclusively to that. In the Constitutions Saint Ignatius never tires of speaking of our "chief and primary" obedience to the Holy Father (n.633). The text of the Constitutions sets forth a clear hierarchy of the various levels of obedience: the "first" is owed to the Holy Father and "then" to Superiors of the Society (n.547). This obedience requires that the Society place "its own judgment and will wholly under that of Christ our Lord and his vicar" (n.606).

Fr. Nadal gives this explanation: "The Society desires to follow Christ and to unite itself to Him as closely as possible, and since we cannot see him more clearly than in his Vicar, we submit ourselves to him with a special vow…. It is Christ who speaks to us in him and who gives us assurance of his will."

Father Arrupe of happy memory wrote: "How should we read for our times, this fragment of eternity in which we are given to live, with its particular circumstances, the words of Ignatius which are the object of our commentary: to serve the Lord and the Church his Spouse, under the Roman Pontiff, the Vicar of Christ on earth?" (Jesuit Identity. In Our Time. To Serve only the Lord…)

2. The Last General Congregations

The 32nd General Congregation, in its famous Decree 2 on our identity, used the words of Paul VI's allocution to describe the distinctive characteristic of the Society: "a companionship that is, at one and the same time, 'religious, apostolic, sacerdotal, and bound to the Roman Pontiff by a special bond of love and service'." (II, 24)

The last three Congregations repeated again that obedience to the Vicar of Christ continues to be, as in the time of the first Jesuits, "the source and principal foundation " of the Society of Jesus, and the 33rd confesses humbly that "recently our fidelity under certain circumstances has not been perfect and has caused concern to those who exercise pastoral office." (n.8, cf GC34, 11, 19)

In a particularly delicate circumstance Fr. Arrupe wrote: "the mission of the Society is to bring about that the way of thinking of the Church be accepted and loved." (15 August 1968) He knew well that the Society cannot fulfil this mission effectively if it does not incorporate it affectively, with a sincere loyalty expressed in love and harmony.
The carefully crafted Decree 11 of GC34 "On Having a Proper Attitude of Service in the Church," closes with these words in its number 28: "[Our] service will be Christian only if anchored by fidelity to him who makes all things new. It will be Jesuit only if it is in union with the successor of Peter. For this union has always given us the assurance indeed, it is the visible sign - 'of our communion with Christ, the first and supreme head of the Society which by its very name is his: the Society of Jesus.'"

3. Some Questions in the Light of These Texts:

a. What has helped you as a Jesuit to strengthen the special bond of love and service to the Holy Father? What difficulties have you experienced in your apostolic life with respect to this special bond with the Holy Father?

b. Does the measure of our sincerity in obedience to the Vicar of Christ on earth continue to be what Saint Ignatius termed "readiness", or does there prevail in some a lack of confidence in his decisions and his magisterium?

c. What elements should be emphasized in our formation to promote a growth in the spirit of devotion and special fidelity to the "Vicar of Christ on earth"?

d. Ignatius, as we read in his Autobiography, suffered much for the Church and he also suffered much at her hands (Alcalá, Salamanca, Paris…). However all of this served to purify his faith in the Church and in the Vicar of Christ. Do we react in this way in the face of the difficulties that come our way? Do we see growth in our faith in the Church, the Spouse of Christ, "governed and ruled" by his Spirit (SpEx,365)?

THE ECOLOGICAL DIMENSION OF THE SOCIETY'S MISSION

1. Introduction:
Ecology was one of the themes on which we received many postulates, coming from all parts of the world. This indicates a new sensitivity and a growing concern in the Society.

The postulates recommend that GC35 give this theme special attention, emphasizing the bond between ecology and justice, and affirming it as a constitutive dimension of our mission today. The Society should accept this ecological dimension not only as an apostolic priority, but also should consider it as a permanent dimension of our Mission.

Questions for reflection and community discussion:

• Do we agree with the integrated view offered by these postulates?
• Compared to several years ago, do we have today a "new sensitivity" and "growing concern" about this problem? Or do we consider it rather of interest only to younger generations or to some smaller political parties?

2. Facts justifying the importance of this dimension today:
The postulates refer to certain glaring facts: more frequent ecological disasters, studies demonstrating the worsening situations in some regions and the risks facing the very planet, an increasingly dire impact of all this on the poor, and the growing number of refugees that has resulted.

Regarding the present situation of the Society they point out a paradoxical fact: though the Society and our lay companions enjoy nowadays ample possibilities to join forces with other institutions inside or outside of the church in addressing this enormous ecological problem, nevertheless the Society has not been sufficiently prophetic, nor has it committed itself in an area so critical for the fate of the planet.

Our greatest contribution has been We Live in a Broken World: Reflections on Ecology (Promotio Justitiae 70, 1999), which does not appear to have had much of an impact on the life of the Society.

Questions for reflection and community discussion:

• Are there examples of ecological problems or disasters in our city or region? Are there any serious and effective institutions in our area engaged in this question?
• Do we agree or not with the judgment of some postulates that in this area the Society has lacked a prophetic stance and commitment?
• How do you judge the opinion of some who say that the complexity of this issue makes a commitment by individuals and communities unrealistic, and that only governments have the capacity to respond to it?

3. Recommendations of the coetus praevius:
It is clear that in a changing context the universality of the problem and the sense of shared responsibility have grown greatly since GC34 (cf. Decree 2, nº 9, Decree 20).

On the other hand, reconciliation with nature, as spoken of today, not only embraces but also gives a new standing to the social dimension of the problem, constituting something novel that raises new theological perspectives.

Regarding the contribution of the Society, it is important that we not overlook the "pantheistic" focus of some ecological movements, to say nothing of the difficulty in finding in them a Christological aspect. For this reason the Society is challenged to work with others in theology and spirituality so as to make here a truly Christian contribution.

Nor should we overlook the close bond between the ecological dimension and the matter of justice: Environmental degradation (global warming, deforestation, desertification, flooding, etc.) affect not only nature, God's creation, and future generations, but principally the poor who live in worsening urban and rural situations because they do not possess the means to protect themselves. "Unscrupulous exploitation of natural resources and the environment degrades the quality of life; it destroys cultures and sinks the poor in misery" (GC34, Decree 3, nº9).

Questions for reflection and community discussion:

• Have we read any articles or books on the ecological problem, and more concretely, any with a focus on the light of faith?
• Where do we think the Society should make its specific contribution in this area? How should we reconsider our option for faith and justice?
• What place does this concern have in the programs of our schools and universities, in the formation of our social centers, in the preaching in our churches and parishes?

Documents:
GC34, Decree 3, nº9 and Decree 20.
Promotio Justitiae, We Live in a Broken World: Reflections on Ecology, #70, 1999.
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Vatican 2004, nº 471, 478.
The Ignatian Ecological Network, coordinated by the Secretary for Social Justice in the General Curia.